KY INBRE Pilot Project Awards

About this program

The Kentucky IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (KY INBRE) offers one-year Pilot Project Awards of up to $50,000 in direct costs to help promising investigators at Kentucky colleges and universities develop NIH-funded research programs involving undergraduate students. Funds may support research supplies, equipment, core facilities, travel, salary, and student assistance, with awards expected to lead to NIH R15 or R16 submissions. Eligible applicants are tenure-track or tenured faculty at Kentucky institutions other than the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky who are eligible for NIH R15/R16 funding and are not supported by another KY INBRE award mechanism. Applicants must demonstrate an active research agenda, meet additional requirements based on career stage—including mentoring, NIH consultation, or a pending/in-preparation R15/R16 renewal—and submit a letter of intent by December 1, 2026, followed by a full proposal due December 18, 2026.